BAD BOSS? Bennet’s Strange and Curious Supreme Court Indecision

That awkward moment when you’re asked to give a job recommendation for your former boss, and you hesitate, then say you’re not ready to support him for the position?

It appears U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is in that same tough spot.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet met Thursday with Barack Obama’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Colorado Democrat said in a statement afterward that he’s not ready to officially support Merrick Garland’s nomination — though he spoke glowingly of his former colleague at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bennet worked for Garland at the Clinton administration’s Justice Department on cases related to deadly force and asset forfeiture. And although Bennet’s office issued a picture of the two posing for a picture in the Capitol after meeting this week to discuss the Coloradan’s support, Bennet still isn’t willing to give it.

We have to wonder why Bennet hesitated to throw his support behind his old boss?

In Washington, where Democrats are known to back their president’s judicial choice based on party loyalty alone, Bennet is a curious hold-out.

It typically means a senator wants something in return from the president for supporting the Supreme Court pick, some kind of backroom deal. Or, Bennet is concerned that recommending Garland for the position puts his own Senate job in jeopardy.

It could also just be the simple indicator that Bennet doesn’t want to endorse his former boss, because he knows he’s a bad Supreme Court pick.

Bennet claims he wants to learn more about Garland. Interestingly, we want to learn why Bennet is a hold-out.